P.O.T.M. for the 2007-2008 Schoolyear

Welcome to the student poems of the month! We have up to five "Poems of the Month," one each for the K-2, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12 grades plus sometimes one for those who are college level or graduates. Did you miss out on some of last year's poems? You can visit the archives to catch what you missed.

Get your poems for next month in now! Only original poems received in the month previous will be eligible for Poem of the Month for the current month. We are getting so many wonderful submissions it is hard to choose! If you submitted last month and weren't selected you are welcome to try again this month. You can send poems to us by clicking here.

August 2007

September 2007

When it rains outside:

When it rains outside it's cold and
Wet,
But that doesn't bother Mickey,
My pet
She'll run out side with no care,
and we can't find her
Anywhere
We call to her Mickey, Mickey where
Can she be.
Under the house? Up in a tree?
Mickey, my cat was out all night.
She surely gave us a terrible fright.

Sparkling eyes flow as the ocean wave
Sparkling eyes are so beautiful
Sparkling eyes shine like the sun
Sparkling eyes are like the shiny gold
Sparkling eyes are the color pink
Sparkling eyes are like a colorful butterfly!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The evil thing is a gruesome beast
Unliving flesh it loves to feast
Its two headed thing you don't wish to greet
One head sucks your blood
One head chews your meat
It carries its babies on an egg on its back
The babies are hungry when it hatches for a snack
So the evil thing kept some poor victims alive
For the babies to eat when their birthdays arrive
But don't worry, don't cry
Please don't have a fit
The evil thing is not real unless you think about it
REMEMBER: DON'T THINK ABOUT IT!!!!!!!!

As she sits in the grass, lying in wait
Shining in the sun
Beauty deceiving
Calling you closer to the inevitable
Hiding the deeds she has done
As you get closer
As the mouth opens wider
The Truth is revealed
Deception lies in the place
Lying open now with the venom of truth dripping down its fangs
It's now ready to strike
To wound and disable
You are hers now
Never yourself again between the fangs of the beast

When I stepped out of my cozy house I saw the perfectly leveled white snow so I didn't wany to step on it. I saw the bare boughs of a tree swaying gently in the lightly blowing current. I saw my little puppy dog frantically chasing snowflakes coming down from the gloomy gray sky. How Cute. :) I heard the mammoth snow plows rumbling down the thoroughfare like angry bulls as they collected all the snow. I heard people laughing and playing joyfully in in the beautiful whiteness. I heard my dog barking at the snowflakes like they were aliens meandering down from outerspace and alighting on the chilly earth. I heard people delightfully singing Christmas carols door to door in my neighborhood. I wondered if they were going to sing for my music loving family? :) I felt the bitterly stinging cold as I threw snowballs as hard as I could at my friends. I felt the rigid, frosty icicles as I tried to break them out from our family car. I felt my feet tingling as they thawed out when I put them by the crackling, warm fire. I felt the steaming warmth from the hot chocolate my loving Mom made for me. :) Winter days are my favorite things. :)

Try as he might,
Captain Monroe could not fight the stormy seas that night.
The waves crashing,
Against his boat they were thrashing.
The wind blowing hard,
Very, very hard.

Captain Monroe was a bailing,
The water that came on board while a sailing.
But, try as he might,
Captain Monroe could not fight the stormy seas that night.

It was a full moon that night,
It was an eerie night alright.
Monroe stroked his beard
And said, “Oh dear.”
Captain Monroe steered frantically,
But, try as he might,
Captain Monroe could not fight the stormy seas that night.

Monroe figured this would be his last night.
The captain was right,
A large piece of driftwood
Poked into Monroe's boat's wood.

Water quickly poured through.
Monroe yelled, “No!” through and through.
But, try as he might,
Captain Monroe could not fight the stormy seas that night.

Down, down, down sank the boat that night.
Monroe didn't make a sound again that night.
Now everyone knows the story of Captain Monroe
And how he sank, yes, yes, good old Monroe,
And how try as he might,
Captain Monroe could not fight the stormy seas that night.

The smiles erupt
On the girl's little face
Eyes spilling delight
There's no sad in the place
Cheeks rosy and full
She lets out a squeal
Covers her mouth
As if that weren't real

And I sit and I watch her
As she laughs in pure glee
And my head swims in remembrance
Of how I used to be
So happy and perfect
Like that rosy cheeked girl
That sits right across the room
Living in her own care-free world

I don't talk
I just see
With peering eyes
I realize
I've been looking
At the 5-year-old me

In a lonely forgotten alleyway
The shadows of darkness lie.
On the cold cobblestone floor,
The putrid stench of bloodshed.
There lies young girl with silent tears and muffled sobs,
Pleading for mercy as the pain surrounds her.
The color fading from her rosy cheeks is working on her eyes.

Plunge after Plunge,
Tear after Tear,
She is thrown to the Ground,
As cold as their hearts.
They leave her, hurt and alone.
She meant nothing to them,
Just another easy score.

She lets go of her heart,
And it plummets to the floor beside her.
Pain flashes in a young girl’s eyes
As she shamefully realizes what she has become.
Her innocence lost,
Hopes and dreams gone, worthless,
Her spirit fades away.

An unwanted soul implants itself
Beneath her broken heart,
Filling her gut with pain and nausea.
Remembering that dreadful night
And the sleepless nights then on,
She cries herself to the first sleep she has had since.

When people notice more than just the swell of tears,
They shine no mercy upon her troubled soul,
Even her loved ones abandon her,
No sympathy given for her disgrace.

Once again she is left alone to bear
The burden of an accidental life,
Destroying her own.
Despite what they all say,
She knows what has to be done.
Avoiding accusing glares
And cold pitiless eyes,
She runs.

She comes across a place of darkness, emptiness,
And the cold chill of loneliness.
She stands before an alleyway,
The place where she wasted away,
Turned to dust.
She silently pulls a metal coat hanger from her sleeve,
The one that held her outside tall and proud,
As her insides churned in fear.
It is her only escape from a life of wretchedness.

She gazes upon her fearful reflection in the dingy metal
That gives off just a glimmer of light,
Just enough hope for a new beginning.

With silent tears and muffled sobs,
She forces herself to plunge and plunge,
Again and again.
It’s all over, another vulnerable soul whisked away.

In the silence of her tormented relief
She whispers, to the world and to herself,
“I am not a criminal.”

Penguins sliding penguins riding on the slippery ice. Penguins dancing penguins prancing on the frozen snow. Penguins fishing penguins shifting in the freezing water. Penguins eating penguins reading in the twilight sky. Penguins sleeping all around all through the night.

It's just a yummy,yummy world on Earth because everything is made of chocalate!"Mmmmm" as I am licking my arm,a chocolate tundra is raining melted chocolate into a storm.I have to hurry up and go into my brown,peanut coated house.As I'm walking down the sidewalk,I see a chocolate mouse.It's finally nighttime,and I see the chocolate moon,it will be time to go to bed,soon!I change to my white chocolate night clothes,and scrub the peanut bumps off of my chocolaty nose.And while I hear the door close,I say I'm just a lucky girl in just a yummy,yummy world.

March 2008

There was a 2-way tie for the K-2 poem category.

[untitled]

There once was a girl, she loved to drink carrot juice. Her mom used to joke around, “If you drink any more carrot juice, you`ll turn orange.” The girl said, “yeah right!” So she drank another glass, and she turned orange! ALWAYS LISTEN TO YOUR MOM!

On the street Mashvill, there lived a kid named Shoe. He was shaped like a shoe. He stepped on people that got in his way. One day I saw him. He stepped on my face! Then he grew even bigger! And bigger, and bigger, and bigger! Then I saw a huge man. His name was Dan! He put is foot in the shoe. Then Dan the man took Shoe for a walk of death. Then Dan the man and Shoe got lost! They were never seen again, until Toy the boy saw Dan the man and Shoe lost in a cave. Toy the boy gave them some toys. Toy the boy took them out of the cave. Then he said “See ya later alligator!” Dan the man said, “After a while crocodile.” Then they lived happily ever after.
THE END

Swinging through the jungle, feeling so humble and through to the door crawling on the jungle floor slithering like a snake with your shiny tree-like cape flashing in with a sin listening for a “SPIN!”; Hear that noise? What's that sound?!... IT'S TARZAN! NO IT'S A CHIMP! NO,NO,NO! IT'S A MONKEY!! A monkey,monkey,monkey,monkey! What’s that? Another noise? Maybe it's a cheetah pack, or a gorilla herd, but all I know is I can show how I feel inside, CRAZY KOOKIE like the midnight howlers in the night.

he shut his eyes on stage
he leaned back
he bathed in the light
he let his fingers do the work
they would scatter up and down the frets
effortlessly the whole room
they all gawked at him
he would smile
give a wink
and keep on playing the way he does

The rose is for a master, a teacher and a friend,
The magnolia outshines all those in its stead,
The bleeding heart should never be alone,
and they watch as the young girl's Heart slowly turns to stone,

But the water lily lifts her up, healing her open wounds,
And the hibiscus warms her where she stands,
The anemone hugging her
with their soft white hands,

The tulip and honeysuckle,
embracing in a warm yellow bliss,
The wind calling endlessly,
for cherry blossom's kiss

The daisy brings delight and fun,
but where would we be,
If the sunflower,
said we were done?

The fuchsia's sight cannot be shone,
yet it even envelops the lily and The dandelion,
in how far it has grown,

And all these souls come together,
and the girl,
never lets go of those souls

A ring so clear, it’s heard in every ear,
in every ear that is able to hear,
the punctual bell that starts each day,
a definite signal that seems to say
Retreat to class! Do not delay,
for the beginning of school is near!

And to this bell, the students react,
by gathering books (which are rarely intact).
They fill up the halls, not a single spot void.
The much needed barrier of personal space destroyed.
They continue to shuffle, many in the mass annoyed,
annoyed by the little distance traveled in fact.

Approaching their long-awaited destination:
a classroom prepared for education,
the students spill in, each occupy their seat,
and scrounge for their homework which they hope is complete.
They lay out their binders on the desk nice and neat,
unexcited to endure the class’s duration.

Some teachers’ lessons are difficult to digest.
Some, with their [d]ittos they are obsessed.
Drone does the teacher, and sleep does the student,
both beings ignorant that they are imprudent.
Yet, reasonable is the dislike of lectures by the student.
More hated is the dreaded quiz or test!

Clear your desks the teacher demands,
Pens should be the only objects in your hands.
Study guides and notebooks slowly disappear.
They are replaced by nervous students, their faces hinting fear.
At last, the exam is distributed, directions are made clear,
and it is written for as long as the student withstands.

After nine long classes, the school day is through.
The students return home (and their teachers do too).
They climb upstairs to their bedrooms, turn on the light,
and finish their homework which takes them all night.
They drift off to sleep, knowing with delight,
that the cycle will repeat the next day anew.

Opening a book
Unwrapping a present
Images creep in to my head
An artist is painting a picture
Eyes fly across the page
Hawk soars in the sky
Excitement gathers
Like money in a couch
Turn to the last page
A ballerina on the stage
Finishing a book
Completing a memory

Think of all the things you've seen, Think about all the things you will see: flying pigs, dragons flaming, fairies arguing, and wait,... yes I see it now......... a friend,......a friend coming your way.......

Silky Ocean glazed and blue
Flying fish look like a rainbow on the silvery ocean
Flying fish go over the moon.
I am a scuba diver
I see a dolphin jump into the silvery moonlit night
It becomes a cormorant and dives back in
Now it's a giant pearl flashing in the waves....
The flying fish bring me the pearl.
A flash! I am awake with the pearl by my side.

Vintage photographs,
The pictures bleeding,
Dull apart from the blood drops,
Smeared across the page,
Red against the old,
Vibrant with the freshness of pain,
Old piano keys turning brown,
Broken and chipping away,
Crimson rose petals lying in solitude,
A run down shed,
Paint starting to chip,
Scarlet rays of the setting sun,
Vivid against the passing memories,
Stronger than the soothing ache,
Pain that runs deep through the blood,
Whispered words not meant to be touched,
Bandaged heart,
Covered with gauze and tape,
Beating feebly against the burning pain,
Love unspoken,
Fantasies left abandoned,
Remembrance only through forgotten photos,
Spilled red wine,
Seeping into shades of gold,
Rusting brown,
And stinging grey,
Lips kept still,
Fingertips bleeding,
Fragile nails against the wood,
Scratching aches into physical hate,
Aging tape that no longer holds,
Bittersweet candy still with wrappers,
Mints striped with red and white,
Kept on desks no longer used,
Only seen in worlds not so close,
In bleeding, vintage photographs.